DeLauro Statement on Report State Department Will Upgrade Malaysia’s Human Trafficking Rating
WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement today on news that the State Department will move Malaysia from tier 3 to tier 2 in its annual Trafficking In Persons report. With the change in designation, Malaysia will not be barred from joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.
“Our legitimacy and moral authority on the issue of human trafficking is being undermined in an effort to smooth the path for the TPP. We should not sacrifice our ethical principles for a corporatist agenda. Just one year ago, the State Department downgraded Malaysia in its annual report to tier three, alongside North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe.
“Malaysia is notorious for its human smuggling and sex slavery. Just this May, it was revealed that 139 human skeletons were found at a gruesome site where Rohingya Muslims were kept by human traffickers. Jungle camps kept by traffickers are staging sites for holding desperate refugees and migrants captive for extortion.
“The only reason to upgrade Malaysia to a tier two country is to bypass the ban that is currently in U.S. law. President Obama and Secretary Kerry must do the right thing and not arbitrarily upgrade Malaysia as a means to secure the TPP. This is an irresponsible, unacceptable political game. Further, this year’s delay in issuing the annual Trafficking In Persons report has been inordinately long. The administration must stop stalling and make an honest determination that is driven by facts, not politics. Putting trade before human rights is unacceptable.”
The Obama Administration is trying to finalize the TPP and have Congress consider it under fast track authority. The fast track law has a provision prohibiting the consideration of trade agreements that include nations on the tier three list for the worst forms of human trafficking. These countries do not comply with minimum international standards for combating human trafficking.
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